The Eddie Howe comment that hints at behind the scenes improvements needed at Newcastle United

The United squad are currently making the most of the international break with a warm weather training camp at the state-of-the-art at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex.

The complex includes two football pitches, an athletics track, indoor facilities, a ‘world-class’ gym, strength and conditioning facilities and rehabilitation support services.

Howe has used the facilities previously while at AFC Bournemouth and has welcomed the change in scenery from United’s Benton training base.

“For me it's one of the best training arenas in the world,” Howe told NUFC TV.

"First class facilities, a world-class pitch and the facilities around the pitch are second to none. We took the boys in the altitude chamber today which they really enjoyed – swimming pool, cryotherapy chambers – we utilised everything we could to help the players.”

With a 1-0 defeat at Everton ending a run of three away games in the space of a week, Howe gave his players some ‘downtime’ once they arrived in Dubai on Friday evening.

After a few day’s rest, the squad trained together as a group on Tuesday.

"It's nice to expose the players to [the facilities],” Howe added. “When you want to really push the players hard physically, you need to have the highest level of recovery equipment to utilise, and we have that here.

"The gym, the swimming pool and allowing the players to talk in a new environment does help stimulate friendships, I'm a firm believer in that.

"These periods help new friendships form and bring the group closer together so there are natural benefits which really help the team.”

Although Howe didn't explicitly say so himself, his comments regarding the training complex in Dubai provide a subtle reminder of the contrasting facilities at Newcastle’s training ground back home.

There is no sufficient hydrotherapy or cryotherapy facilities available to players on site at Benton – among other things. Meanwhile, many rival Premier League clubs have such facilities ready and available at their respective training grounds.

Fortunately, Newcastle’s owners are committed to upgrading the training facilities on Tyneside, which could see the training ground move to a new site entirely.

Speaking at an FT Live event earlier this month, United co-owner Amanda Staveley said: “We all want the best for the club – and that’s to grow and help us develop.

"What that means is a new training ground, an academy. I’m passionate to get the women's football really moved back into the heart of the club. We’ve also had other facilities go up at other football clubs, so we’ve looked at other clubs' facilities quite enviously.”

Newcastle will spend the rest of the week enjoying the facilities in Dubai before returning to England. They return to Premier League action at Tottenham Hotspur on April 3, looking to bounce back from consecutive defeats.

Howe added: “They need to get [the Everton defeat] out of their system quickly and look to the future because that's something that we can affect and something we have to work towards, getting a positive result in our next game.”

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